This really is a hidden treasure! Driving along the N81 (Blessington Road) I have looked up many times at this hill and wanted to visit the barrow on its summit, which I thought I could easily see. However, now I have been there I now that the bump on the top is not the barrow itself, but the earthworks that have been built to mark the lip of a quarry.
To one side of this bank there is a trig point (which shows that the bank isn't very old, otherwise the trig point would on top of it.) Just over the field wall from the trig point is this amazing burial chamber. Sunk into the ground four large slabs form an open topped box 1m long and 80cm wide. It is at least 70cm deep, but as the bottom is filled with rocks it's hard to say. The long axis of the cist aligns north-south and actually points directly at the cairn at Knockannavea (County Dublin).
What really makes this site special is the fact that the capstone is lying next to the open grave. This has simply been levered off, tipping it upside down in the process. It looks like a giant beached turtle. The exposed underside is flat, whereas the top is domed.
Click Thumbnail to View Full Size Image
_
_
_
_
_All Sites Visited On 19th March 2006 « Previous Site Next Site »
A Random Selection of Nearby Monuments
 Carrowkeel (Co. Sligo) |  Ballygroll 7 (Co. Derry) |
